[nagdu] Three questions about "winterizing" a guide dog

[Sam Hogle]

Julie, thanks for that tidbit about the ferminator. Unfortunately, I had 
to learn that one the hard way. I had just gotten one since Mason's 
golden fur ends up all over the house. It worked so well that I used it 
several times over the first day. However, I noticed when I was petting 
him afterwards that it took off so much fur on one spot that it had 
scraped the skin. Luckily, it wasn't a bad scrape, but noone likes the 
idea of causing harm to their dog. So, I thought I would mention that so 
that noone overuses the ferminator like I did. It would be nice if the 
package had some sort of warning about that.
Sam and Mason
On 11/13/2011 11:09 AM, Julie J. wrote:
> Bryan,
>
> 1. Yes, I use a raincoat/winter coat with my current guide, but not 
> with past guides.  My current guide is a Boxer mix and has much 
> shorter and less dense fur than my other dogs.  I have a custom coat 
> from Cozy Horse
> http://www.angelfire.com/co4/cozyhorse/dogblanket.html
> I also have sweaters galore that go over the harness.  I'd be happy to 
> send you one if you like.  Just send me your mailing address to:
> julielj at neb.rr.com  I'll be getting them all shipped out in the next 
> few days.  The sweaters are of course not waterproof, but they are free!
>
> 2. Yes, the Furminator does remove the undercoat, however it should 
> only be pulling out the loose hair, not the still attached strands.  
> It is recommended to only use the Furminator once a week.
>
> 3.  I don't do boots, never have.  Mostly this is because I can't 
> imagine myself going to all that bother.  I carry paper towels to wipe 
> feet when it's wet.  Sometimes I wipe my dog's feet on the rug 
> provided for everyone in the entryway.  Sometimes I carry a hand towel 
> if I think I might need more than paper towels can do.  I also use paw 
> wax on my dog's feet in the winter.  It's sorta like Chap Stick for 
> the feet.  Protects them a bit and keeps them from cracking or being 
> irritated.
>
> I also try to add a bit of winter weight on my dogs.  I don't mean let 
> them get fat, just an extra pound or two.  It takes more energy to 
> keep warm.  The extra padding can help.
>
> HTH
> Julie
>
>
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